The Runemaster
by fleacollar999
Summary: Ruff flipped her braids over her shoulder and scowled down at the box in her lap. How had she been saddled down with these... these things, again? She might have to kill that man the next time she saw him.  Rated T for mild language
1. Fehu

The Rune-Master: Chapter 1

Ruffnut swung her sword towards Astrid, at the last minute turning the blade so the broad side hit the other woman's hands. Astrid swore as the axe fell from her grasp and instinctively dropped to her knees, hoping to grab the sword before Ruff could recover. She stopped as she felt the kiss of cool steel on her neck. Astrid frowned, "You're getting better."

The taller woman smirked, "I know," and pulled Astrid to her feet. Casually Ruffnut balanced her blade on her shoulders, heading towards the exit tunnel. She turned to face Astrid, walking backwards, "And so are you." Astrid wiped at the sweat on her brow with the back of her hand as she jogged to catch up to Ruff. Together the women walked into the cool darkness of the tunnel.

"How're things going with Hiccup?" Ruffnut asked offhandedly.

Astrid's smile dimmed. "They're not."

The taller woman eyed her friend sharply. "You didn't. Again?"

"Yeah. We broke up," Astrid confirmed. They emerged into the bright sunlight. "To tell you the truth, I don't think—." She cut off as an unfamiliar man appeared in front of the two women.

"Excuse me," the man had a strange accent. "May I speak with you?"

Ruff rolled her eyes; this happened all the time. Foreign men would come to Berk and expect the women to be easy. She usually taught these men a lesson they wouldn't soon forget. Ruffnut waved a hand vaguely at Astrid and threw her a look that said, "_I'll handle this." _

Astrid walked off, tossing over her shoulder, "We'll talk later."

Ruffnut waited until the other woman was out of earshot, then smiled down at the man, who was rather short. "Yes?"

He looked nervous. Good. "I, um, was actually, uh, hoping to speak to both of you…?"

"She's busy," Ruff said ambiguously. "I'm sure I can take care of whatever you need."

"Ah, in—in private?"

"Of course." The words were sickly sweet. She led the man to the far side of the arena, where the land dropped off in a steep cliff. The sound of the waves crashing against the cliff was so loud that anyone who wasn't near would not be able to hear their conversation… or the man's screams. Ruffnut smiled wolfishly. "Is this private enough?"

"Ah, y-yes, this is quite… quite satisfactory," the man had to shout to be heard over the waves. "I noticed that you are quite the accomplished, uh, warrior." Ruff nodded, encouraging him to continue. "I have something of, ah, great importance that needs to be kept… safe."

Ruffnut blinked. This wasn't what she had expected at all. Perhaps this little man was wiser than he appeared. After all, he did pick up that she was a skilled Viking. He removed a cloth-wrapped package from the bag he was carrying and handed it to Ruffnut. "What is this?" she asked with interest. He motioned for her to unwrap it.

She set down her sword., then carefully removed the cloth to find a wooden box. She looked at the short man, who nodded. Easing the lid open Ruffnut was severely disappointed. "Runes," she said flatly.

"The Sanngetall Runes," the man corrected. He looked at her expectantly. She looked back at him blankly. "Sanngetall? Sooth—Odin?"

Finally her eyes lit up in recognition, but then narrowed suspiciously. "Sooth, you mean like, fortune-telling stuff?"

"Yes, yes!" he said excitedly. "These are the sacred Sanngetall Runes, legendary in Norway; they tell the destiny of the one who asks."

Ruffnut closed the lid of the box with a sharp _click!_ "Really now." Sure she believed in the gods, but magic? That was something else entirely. "This isn't Norway, you know. I don't think anyone here would be interested in your… runes."

"Please, please take these runes and keep them safe. I am afraid that task is, ah, beyond me," the man said earnestly. And she could believe that.

She looked down at the man and sighed. "Alright. I'll keep your little runes safe. You have my troth."

The man looked up at her seriously. "I want you to swear it."

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "Fine then, I swear to protect your runes."

"No," the man said with a force that surprised her, "Swear an oath. On the runes." Ruff raised her eyebrows. He swallowed hard, "On your sword."

The woman sighed, obviously put out. Bending over to take her sword she met the man's eyes and began speaking, the words seeming to come out of her mouth of their own accord, "I, Ruffnut, daughter of Tuffnut the Elder of whom many are the stories, do speak this oath upon mine wound-hoe," she shook her sword, "to protect the Sanngetall Runes from whatever evil may come upon them. And by Frey, and Thor, and Odin, may this sword smite me should I fail to keep this oath."

There followed a profound silence while the man seemed to examine Ruffnut for any falsehood showing in her countenance. She shivered, suddenly feeling naked under his gaze. Gruffly, she barked, "Are you happy now?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes." He considered the woman for another moment, then asked, "Are you?"

Ruffnut passed a hand over her face in exasperation, "What is that even supposed to mean?" But when she opened her eyes, the man was gone.

She bristled with barely-suppressed rage. That little man drags her out to this gods-forsaken point to weigh her down with some runes and swear a life-oath, then disappears? She ground her teeth together, looking down at the box.

Ruffnut slid a single rune out of the box; it looked like a stake with two branches on the right. _Fehu_, she though, dredging that information of of the recesses of her mind. She would have to ask Fishlegs what it meant, but now she was going to find Snotlout. She could always find a reason to hit Snotlout. Hard.


	2. Algiz

The Runemaster: Chapter 2

Ruffnut stalked to the Mead Hall, sending a glare in the direction of anyone who so much as breathed in her way. Throwing the doors open, she made her way to the table where her brother, Fishlegs, and Snotlout sat. She sat down heavily and fixed her gaze on the largest boy.

"Fishlegs, tell me about runes," Ruffnut commanded.

"Um, well, they're sometimes called 'letters' and we make words out of them," Fishlegs offered tentatively.

"No, no, no!" she said angrily, snatching Tuffnut's cup from his hands and taking a long drink. "Not what they do. What they mean!"

"Vikings do this thing called reading—," Fishlegs began, only to be cut off by Snotlout.

"Fishlegs, my man!" he high-fived the other boy who looked very confused.

"Yeah, man. Totally didn't know you had it in you to make fun of Ruff," Tuffnut snickered as Ruffnut seethed.

"That's not what I meant!" she barked, throwing the cup at her brother's head with deadly aim. "I meant what the runes mean separately, not together. Like, what does 'fehu' mean?"

Fishlegs' confused look grew more defined. "Ruff, runes don't mean anything on their own unless— unless you're talking about their spiritual meanings," he said. He looked at her askance, "You aren't asking about their spiritual meanings, are you?"

Ruffnut looked down her nose at the boy. "So what if I am?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her brother and Snotlout, who were suppressing laughter. "Besides, I asked you first."

"I—I don't know," 'Legs finally answered. "You'd have to ask Gothi… or her apprentice, Ævi."

"Yeah, they're like the only two on the island who actually care about that st—stuff!" Snotlout's wheezing reply dissolved into laughter, and Tuffnut joined in.

"Gods, Ruff, why would you even _care_?" her twin asked, and she understood why. On Berk, relying on the gods was seen was weakness rather than reverence, and runic divination was all but a lost art. Like 'Lout said, Gothi and Ævi _were_ the only ones who cared.

Ruffnut's frown deepened, why would that little man bring the runes here? They were as likely to get destroyed as they were to be read. Lost in thought, she left the boys behind in the Mead Hall.

And Ævi, there was a strange one. Her father, Wyrmfang, had been a great warrior, even travelling to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. But when he died on scouting expedition, Ævi dishonored her father's memory by cutting off all of her hair, like a boy, and going to live with Gothi as her apprentice instead of becoming a shield-maiden, almost like a Valkyrie in her power, like Wyrmfang had wanted. That was years ago, even before Hiccup's battle with the Green Death, and Ævi seemed… happy.

Ruffnut's feet lead her to Gothi the Elder's dwelling (it was smaller than a house but more than a hut, and no self-respecting Viking lived in a _cottage_) where the door was open and a sort of song drifted out into the air. Ruff cocked an eyebrow but entered the domicile to find Ævi weaving and softly singing a song, if you could call it that.

"Fehu fehu fehu; ffffffffff—; fu fa fi fe fo; of ef if af uf; fffffff—," Ævi stopped her strange song and turned to look at Ruffnut. "Well," she said, "I can't say you were the one I expected to be here." Ruff scowled at the girl, who was only a year or so older than Ruffnut herself. "And," Ævi said, smiling, "you want something, I'm sure."

Ruff swallowed her sneer and instead asked, "That rune. The one you were singing. What's it mean?" She had to admit, not knowing what this rune meant was gnawing at her conscious, especially now that Ævi had sang it. How could she have known that Ruffnut was coming, and that it was that particular rune she wanted to know about? Maybe that small man had come here; the thought made her scowl. She didn't trust that man as far as she could throw him, which was, admittedly, pretty far.

"Ahh," Ævi said knowingly, interrupting Ruff's thoughts. "Fehu. Mundane meaning of cattle, sheep, and power. But that's not what you're looking for, is it?"

Ruffnut stared blankly at the girl until she realized Ævi wouldn't answer until she did. "No," Ruff said, this time swallowing her pride. "What the, the—the spiritual meaning?" she asked as if the words tasted bad.

Ævi nodded. "Fehu is the mystery of creation and destruction, embodied in one. It is the rune of eternal becoming, of the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth," she explained in words Ruffnut found to be as clear as mud. Ævi gestured at the younger girl, "What have you got there?"

Ruff looked down, confused until she saw the box of runes in her hand. _How did the boys not see these?_ she wondered briefly, before deciding, _They must be stupid._ Ruffnut stroked the lid of the box with a finger as she debated on telling Ævi about the Sanngetall Runes. Eventually she handed the box to Gothi's apprentice, reasoning, _he didn't say I couldn't talk about them._ "These are some runes a stranger gave me," she said. "He wants me to protect them, says they're famous in Norway." She shrugged, acting nonchalant.

Ævi nodded and carefully slid the lid of the box back to reveal the runes. "Interesting," she said after a moment. "The box is made of rowan, but the runes themselves are ash." She picked up a rune delicately; it looked like a tree with three branches. "Algiz, how droll," she handed the rune to Ruffnut, who blinked at her. "Protection, and the link between the gods and humanity. I'd say you're at the beginning of a fantastic journey, Ruffnut Thorston."

Ruffnut bit back a laugh and collected the box from Ævi. "Sure," Ruff said. "Thanks for the tip. But if you'd excuse me, I'll be going now." She waited until she left the house to let the laughter loose, barely able to walk from the guffaws. It was in this way that she nearly tripped over Gothi. The little woman peered up at Ruffnut, who suddenly felt naked for the second time that day. "Can I help you?" Ruff asked curtly.

"No," Gothi smiled, "but I would stay away from rings of fire, if I were you." Ruffnut snorted, like that was advice at all, there were no rings of fire on Berk, and why would anyone light a ring of fire, anyways? You would just get stuck in the middle and have to wait until it burned out, if it didn't burn _you_.

Ruff's boots crunched the early winter snow, as she made her way to the Thorston residence to drop off the runes. Or hide them, as it may be. She closed her eyes and let her feet do the work, listening to the sounds of the village preparing for the night. In the distance she could hear Astrid and Hiccup.

"C'mon, Astrid, you know I didn't mean to make you mad!" Hiccup pleaded.

"Yeah, but you did anyway," Astrid snapped back. "Why don't you grow a little backbone, huh?"

Hiccup's voice was quieter. "This is just how I am."

"_How you are_ doesn't cut it!" There was a pause, then Astrid added softly, "I—I didn't mean it like that."

Ruffnut opened her eyes to see the pair standing in the darkness outside the Mead Hall. Even she could tell that Hiccup was hurt, and his response didn't surprise her.

"_I didn't mean it like that_," he began, his voice edged with steel, "doesn't cut it." Hiccup pushed past Astrid, walking as quickly as his prosthetic would allow. He didn't even see Ruff standing there, but Astrid did.

"I—I don't know what to do!" she said, walking towards Ruff with tears welling up in her eyes. "Everything I say is just, just wrong!" The taller girl wrapped her arms around Astrid in an unpracticed hug. "I don't think I make him happy anymore," she murmured despondently.

"I'm sure you do," Ruff said, though she was far from sure. "The winter stresses everyone out, just give it some time." She took the other girl's hand, and pulled lightly. "Come on, let's get you home. Everything will seem better with some Yak Nog, right?"

Astrid smiled weakly as she dragged the back of her hand across her eyes. "Yeah…."

Ruff chattered at Astrid as they walked, filling the silence with silly stories and ending with a dramatic rendition of Ævi's song.

"Thanks, Ruffnut," Astrid said quietly when they arrived at the Hofferson house. "I've got it from here."

"You sure?" Ruff asked.

"Yeah," Astrid pulled her into a hug, "thanks though."

Ruff nodded and waited for her friend to close the door before setting off into the darkness. For being so smart, Astrid sure didn't know how to handle a guy like Hiccup. _Not that I could do any better_, Ruff was quick to add to her thoughts, but honestly? She thought the two should break it off. Permanently. Because this was getting kind of old.

Ruff looked up, and realized she had walked right past her house, into the snowy pasture behind. Seriously though, her train of thought drove on, boys were just not worth the trouble. _Look at me, _she snickered out loud, _single and lovin' it._

She tilted her head back and took a deep breath of cool night air. Sure, she could be lonely at times, but "love" wasn't for a girl like Ruff.

Something twinkled in the sky. She blinked, and it was gone. _Must've been one of those falling stars, _she thought. _Wait, am I supposed to make a wish now. I wish—! _Ruffnut's mind went blank as the sky burst into flames.

At least, that was what it looked like. An ominous red, flickering light covered the sky, casting strange shadows on the earth below. Ruff turned to run, but found she couldn't move, and was that a sizzling sound? She looked to the ground, and in a perfect circle, 4 paces from her at all sides, the snow was melting. "Loki's spawn!" she cursed, half-angry and half-frightened, and flames began to lick up into the air. "I am in a ring of fire. _I am in a ring of fire!_"

Around her, the shadows seemed to coalesce into a dark being with red eyes. Ruffnut fumbled around for her sword, but all she found was the box of runes. She slid the lid open and pulled one out, hoping for a miracle. "Algiz!" she shouted, recognizing the rune from earlier that day and folding into her fist. "Algiz!" she repeated and shook her fist at the creature, which drew steadily nearer. "Protection, damn it, so start _protecting!_" She threw the rune at the creature with all her might; it sailed over the flames, flying an unnatural distance, and hit the creature between the eyes. With a pained cry it dispersed into shadows, and the ring of fire flickered to nothing.

"I…," Ruff drew the syllable out, "really did not expect that to work." She quickly hopped over the scorched circle and gathered the rune in her palm. "Umm, thank you?" she said, feeling ridiculous for talking to an inanimate piece of wood. And though it hurt her pride, she silently promised herself to stay away from rings of fire. She was going to have to talk to Gothi. And Ævi, she thought, for good measure.

Ruffnut tucked the rune back into the box and walked back to her house, which was only a scant 30 paces away. Slamming the door behind her, she glared at her brother, who looked like he was attempting to put an entire loaf of bread into his mouth at once. "Did you not hear that?" she asked accusingly.

He looked at her dumbly. "Hear what?"

"That! That—nevermind," she fumed, and stomped up the stairs to her room. Scooting her front half under her bed, she pried up the loose floor board. "There," she said, sounding only a little satisfied, "no one will find you here." She backed out from under the bed, then sat on it.

Who—or what, rather—would want these runes? They were nothing more than glorified sticks. Glorified sticks that could allegedly tell the future. _With some degree of accuracy_, Ruffnut thought, or no one would care about them. She snorted. "Whatever! Not my problem," she said firmly, thinking of the little man who saddled her with these runes. _Though if something tries to attack me again, I'm gonna kick his ass._


End file.
